When we were planning what to see in Paris, of course the first in the list is the Eiffel tower. We only had an hour of rest after more than 24 hours of travelling since we left Australia. But we then headed out to see the tower. While still in Melbourne I already booked our tickets online. You can also buy tickets at the ticket office at the foot of the tower.
You can buy tickets from the lift entrance to go up the 2nd floor (€9,00), or lift entrance to the top (€15,00). The reason they specified lift entrance is that there is also a stairs entrance to the 2nd floor (€5,00), that is if you are keen to walk up 704 steps.
The Eiffel Tower is open every single day of the year:
15 June to the 1st of September – from 9 a.m. to midnight
• LIFTS – 9 a.m. to 12:45 a.m. last lift is midnight (11p.m. for the top).
• STAIRS – 9 a.m. to 12:45 a.m. Last admission is midnight.
During the rest of the year – from 9:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.
• LIFTS – 9:30 a.m. to 11:45 p.m. Last lift is 11 p.m. (10:30 p.m. for the top).
• STAIRS – 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Last admission is 6 p.m.
I’m glad I did the booking online because there was a long queue when we got there. When booking, you have to pick out a specific time that you want to visit. We wanted to see Paris at night from the tower, so we chose the 10.00 p.m. slot, but we could only book to the 2nd floor online as the website said that the top level is full for that time slot. When we got there though, there is also a ticket booth at the 2nd floor and we were allowed to buy tickets to go up the top level. It all worked out.
It was still daylight when we arrived at the tower, so we had a walk around the area. Directly in front of the tower is a bridge called Pont d ‘Iena, I learned that Pont is the French word for bridge. Apparently there are 37 bridges on the River Seine. Pont d ‘Iena connects the Eiffel tower to the Trocadero.
The Trocadero is a large square with a number of museums and other buildings. The dominant building that sits on the hill of the Trocadero is called Palais de Chaillot, frequented by tourists as a good vantage point to see the lights of the Eiffel tower. The space in front of the building is occupied by a big garden, the Jardin du Trocadero. The gardens have this water sprayer, called the Fountains of Warsaw, more like a water cannon actually as it can create columns of water 12 meters high.
We sat on the steps of Palais de Chaillot together with hundreds of other tourists waiting for the Eiffel Tower to light up when it got dark. We were not disappointed, as the view from there is spectacular.
We went all the way to the top using the elevators. We had a look around the 2nd floor, and by the time we got to the top it was late at night and the wind was quite cold. I do suggest bringing a jacket (we were there in late August). And also bring a camera that can take good photos at night because you can have a 360-view of Paris from the tower. We only had a point and shoot camera, so the photos did not came out as good as we wanted it to.
We got back to the hotel around 2am. Staying up that late was a good way to overcome jet lag, we were tired to the bones, so we had a good sleep, woke up refreshed the next day, and our body clock got into the rhythm with Parisian time.
I have more to say about Paris but that will be in the coming posts. Bye for now.
Other posts about Paris:
Midnight at the EIFFEL TOWER – PARIS—You are here
Travel Photo of the Week 5
Travel Photo of the Week 9
Text & Photos by Alicia Davis
